'Smart' Online Mortgage Tools Seeing Surge

Adoption of "smart" online mortgage applications by credit unions and banks is expected to rise sharply, according to a new survey.

While only 18% of lenders surveyed said they currently offer the technology, 71% said they expect to in the near future.

The survey of 251 banks and 79 credit unions was conducted by New York-based Lieberman Research Group and sponsored by Mortgagebot LLC, a Wisconsin-based provider of online lending technology. Mortgagebot said none of the respondents were current customers.

Mortgagebot, a provider of lending and Web technology to more than 950 credit unions and banks, defines a "smart" mortgage application system as a "fully transactional, Web-based solution that intelligently guides borrowers through the application, adjusting the questions for applicants according to their unique situations."

Because of the large sample size, the survey yielded a confidence level of 95% with a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points, the company said.